Literary giants gathered in one room as they celebrated the best of Philippine literature at Saturday’s (September 1) awarding night of Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature at the Rigodon Hall of the Peninsula Hotel in Makati.

Now on its 62nd year, the prestigious award-giving body received this year a total of 1,077 entries divided in 20 categories. Of all the submitted literary pieces, 59 were selected from 58 writers, with half of them joining for the first time.

Peter Solis Nery, who won first place in Poetry for Children category, joined other literary artists as the twenty-third member in the esteemed Palanca Hall of Fame awardees with his poem “Punctuation.” Nery won his first Palanca under the category and had won four other first-place awards in previous years. In 1988, he won his first Palanca under the Short Story in Hiligaynon category in 1998 with his piece titled “Lirio.” Nery joined the ranks of Cirilio F. Bautista, Rolando S. Tinio, Alfred A. Yuson, and other writers in the Palanca Hall of Fame.

Peter Solis Nery, this year’s inductee to the Palanca Hall of Fame, dedicated his Hall of Fame award to his mother. Nery won his fifth first place award in the Poetry for Children category with the poem “Punctuation." Photo by Dino Mari L. Testa, InterAksyon.com.

The Palanca Hall of Fame Awards was established in 1995 to honor Palanca awardees who have already won five first places in the regular categories.

Meanwhile, guest speaker tourism secretary Ramon R. Jimenez cited the importance of the Palanca Awards in strengthening national identity through literature, citing that the said award-giving body is the “pinnacle of Filipino creativity.”

“What we celebrate here tonight is the richness of the Filipino soul. Every year, the [Don Carlos] Palanca Memorial Awards build a virtual monument to the contemporary Filipino literature,” he said.

Secretary Jimenez received the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi as the guest of honor in the gala ceremonies. Jimenez is also a writer, mentor, and one of the pillars of Philippine advertising.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez received the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi from members of the Palanca family. Jimenez was the guest of honor during the 62nd Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards. Photo by Dino Mari L. Testa, InterAksyon.com.

Carlos Palanca Foundation’s Director-General Sylvia Palanca-Quirino mentioned that the participants sacrificed a lot for the country by crafting their literary works, following the footsteps of Jose Rizal, and expressing their love for the nation through literature.

“Those who are in this assembly may already be said to have deepened their love of country, already thought beyond themselves, already sacrificed and given of their time, their minds, their spirit, their patience and resolve, and their excellent memory—by writing about how it is to be Filipino, and by submitting their entries to our annual contest,” she said.

Furthermore, she said that joining the Palanca is a “win-win process” by devoting one’s thoughts and imagination on paper.

Actors Robert Sena and Candy Pangilinan brought to life Joshua Lim So’s “Joe Cool: Aplikante,” which won first place in Dulang May Isang Yugto category. Photo by Dino Mari L. Testa, InterAksyon.com.

The Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was established in 1950 to commemorate the memory of Don Carlos Palanca Sr. through the promotion of education and culture in the country by collecting literary works from gifted Filipino writers. It started by calling on Filipino writers to submit their short story entries in English and Filipino.

Here is the complete list of winners of the 62nd Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. Congratulations!